Weird Black Fog

"This is really strange. I've been chasing with all my might, yet I still can't see that person's shadow?"

Chen Li, who was in pursuit, felt a sense of confusion.

After he entered the Black House Wasteland, he instantly lost track of the black shadow.

Just then.

A black shadow flashed by. Chen Li, who was running, felt a chill at his neck and lost consciousness.

The thick fog on both sides of the road suddenly morphed into tentacles, dragging Chen Li's corpse into the mist, and he disappeared.

After Chen Li's body was dragged into the thick fog, the road fell silent, as if nothing had happened.

But soon, the same bizarre events began to unfold one after another.

— The first to die was a lone rogue cultivator.

Relying on his swift footwork, the man boldly broke away from the crowd and sprinted forward alone.

But just as he ran about a hundred meters, the thick fog on both sides of the road surged, and a black shadow streaked past him.

"Pfft!"

Blood splattered, and the rogue cultivator's head flew high into the air.

He maintained his running posture, lunging forward a few more steps before crashing to the ground.

He was then dragged into the fog by the misty tentacles.

Qin Shuang and the others seemed completely oblivious to everything that had happened not far away.

— The second to die was a disciple of the Blazing Sun Sect.

The disciple was originally following behind Liu Yulong, casually observing his surroundings.

But the moment he fell a few steps behind, a dark tentacle suddenly stretched out from the fog, coiling around his ankle like a venomous snake.

He didn't even have time to let out a scream before he was yanked into the mist, leaving only a blurry bloodstain slowly spreading on the ground.

"Hmm?" Liu Yulong seemed to sense something and turned back abruptly, only to find one person missing from the team.

"Where's Li Yue?" he asked with a frown.

The guards beside him exchanged glances, none of them having noticed their companion's disappearance.

— The third to die was a disciple of the Mystic Maiden Palace.

Upon hearing this, Nangong Ruyan suddenly stopped, her pitch-black eyes narrowing slightly.

"Miss?" the maid beside her asked doubtfully.

"Where is Zhou Bing?" Nangong Ruyan's voice was icy.

The four maids instantly became alert, but they soon discovered that the female disciple who had been standing on the outermost side had vanished without a sound.

On the ground, only a broken jade hairpin remained.

It was only now that everyone realized something was wrong.

They quickly looked at the people around them.

"My senior sister is gone too."

"Junior brother, where are you?"

"Big brother..."

After a quick check, everyone discovered that thirteen disciples from various sects were missing.

Qin Shuang stopped.

He stood in the middle of the road and slowly drew the Blood Drinking Saber from his back.

The moment the blade was unsheathed, the surrounding mist seemed to recede a bit, as if it were alive.

"Get out," he said coldly.

No one answered.

But the next second, the thick fog on both sides of the road churned violently, and dozens of dark tentacles shot towards him like arrows!

Qin Shuang's eyes were icy, his saber light like blood, instantly severing several tentacles.

Black ichor splattered on the ground, corroding into scorched pits like strong acid.

"Hmph, playing tricks!"

He snorted coldly, his saber momentum undiminished, and he slashed fiercely into the depths of the mist.

"Boom—!"

Where the saber energy passed, the thick fog was forcibly split open, vaguely revealing a twisted black shadow within.

The shadow's form was human-like, yet it seemed to be condensed from countless wisps of mist. It had no facial features, only a pair of scarlet eyes, staring intently at Qin Shuang.

"Heh heh..."

After a piercing laugh, the black shadow disappeared again.

"Young Sect Master, this fog... it's not right!" an elder from the Azure Sun Sect whispered.

Liu Yulong looked towards Nangong Ruyan.

She picked up a crystal ball and softly chanted an incantation.

The mist within the ball churned violently, revealing dark figures rapidly moving within the fog.

The dense fog on both sides of the road suddenly surged, and countless tentacles attacked from all directions, descending upon everyone like a giant black spider web.

"You're asking for death!"

Qin Shuang's eyes turned cold. He spun the Blood Drinking Saber, and a bloody blade light swept out like a storm, severing the tentacles.

Liu Yulong unfurled his jade bone fan with a "swish," and over a dozen hidden silver needles shot out, piercing several tentacles and pinning them to the ground.

Seeing this, the other sect disciples also unleashed their signature skills—

"Mystic Ice Talisman, freeze!"

A female cultivator threw out three ice-blue talismans. A burst of cold air froze several tentacles into ice.

"Blazing Flame Slash!"

Song Yuanming roared and chopped out a crimson blade energy. Wherever the flames passed, the black mist hissed and burned.

However, the dark figures in the fog were far more bizarre than they had imagined.

After landing, the tentacles wriggled rapidly, rejoining the mist as if they were immortal.

"Swish!"

A dark figure suddenly shot out from the ground, coiling around a disciple's leg like a venomous snake, and violently dragged him into the fog.

"Ah—!"

The scream was cut short.

"Damn it!" A hint of rage flashed in Liu Yulong's eyes. He abruptly raised his right hand, and a beam of green light shot out like an arrow, instantly piercing the dark figure.

"Pfft!"

Hit by the green light, the dark figure let out a pained roar before turning into black smoke and retreating back into the dense fog.

"Hmph, nothing special."

Liu Yulong sneered, but his smile quickly froze.

Because deep within the fog, more scarlet eyes lit up...

—There was more than one dark figure!

At the same time, Wei Qing and the other three, positioned behind the group, were also attacked.

"Holy crap... what was that just now?"

Jun Wushang held his saber, guarding Zhang Xue in front of him. Sticky black liquid dripped from the blade as he warily scanned the surrounding dense fog.

Zhang Xue's small hand tightly clutched the corner of Jun Wushang's clothes, her face showing a look of having narrowly escaped death.

Three breaths ago, a pitch-black tentacle had shot out from the dense fog, aiming straight for her throat.

If Jun Wushang hadn't reacted quickly and severed it with a single strike, she might have died here today.

Tantai Yue frowned as she looked at the tentacle she had cut off. It still seemed alive, wriggling rapidly before rejoining the dense fog.

Wei Qing remained silent, simply stepping forward half a pace to shield the three behind him.

"Rustle, rustle..."

A faint rustling sound suddenly echoed from the surrounding dense fog, like countless snakes slithering through grass.

Jun Wushang tightened his grip on his saber and whispered, "We're surrounded."

Before he could finish speaking, over a dozen tentacles shot out from the fog simultaneously!

Wei Qing's True Essence surged within him, and his Profound Meaning—Lotus Blossom—was suddenly activated!

Nine Lotus Blossoms exploded into existence, primal energy surging, and a blood-red phantom three zhang tall materialized.

The phantom swung its saber along with Wei Qing's strike. As the dozen tentacles were severed, they instantly turned into wisps of green smoke and completely dissipated.

"Aooo..."

A shrill scream echoed through the dense fog.

Instantly, the fog seemed to be enraged, churning violently like boiling black water, and countless tentacles attacked from all directions at once.